Buy Lisk (LSK)

There is currently no way to buy LSK directly. So the only way to buy LSK is to purchase BTC to use on an exchange, and then switch it to Nano.

Step 1: Choose Your Trading Platform

Firstly you will need to decide on your cryptocurrency trading platform and create an account there. The choice of platform isn’t very important as a beginner, what really matters is a trading platform that you are comfortable using..

Choose one of these platforms and complete the follow steps to get started:

BinanceBit-Z

Go to Binance and create a new account if you do not already have one.

Once your account has been confirmed, log in to your Binance account and click on funds at the top right, then “Deposits Withdrawal”.

Select and copy your bitcoin address.

Look in the “Bitcoin” list and click the Bitcoin deposit button. Then a series of numbers appears in the “BTC Deposit Address:” field. You must copy this series for the next step. This is your bitcoin wallet address.

In the Balances page you will to search for Bitcoin in the list. If all goes well, you will find it at the top.

Next click on the option of Bitcoin and then on the next page copy the Deposit Bitcoin (BTC) address, which the set of numbers and letters.

You’re told that you’ll need a trade password, you can create it and then go back to your Balance.

You need this address for the next step.

STEP 2: BUY BTC

The second step is to get your Bitcoin, you can do that at a broker such as BTCdirect .

If you’re buying BTC for the first time from these brokers, you will be asked to confirm your bank account.

Upon payment you will be asked to enter a bitcoin address. You must fill in the address that you have copied at Binance.

STEP 3: WAIT UNTIL YOUR BTC HAS ARRIVED

Once you have purchased Bitcoin and entered the correct BTC deposit address with the payment, you have to wait until the BTC arrives in your wallet.

This process can take up to ½ hour, so don’t worry if it’s not immediately visible on the exchange.

STEP 4: BUY LSK

Once your Bitcoin has arrived at your trading platform, it’s time to buy some LSK.

BinanceBit Z

Go to the Binance trading exchange (click the top left on exchange and choose Basic) and use the search function within BTC Markets to find the LSK/BTC trade.

Once on the LSK/BTC trade page you can look in the left box marked with Buy LSK. Here you can decide how much LSK you want to buy using your Bitcoin.

If you then press Buy LSK your order will be placed. When the order is filled you will see your number of LSK on the right-hand box or on your balance page.

Enter the Bit-z homepage and use the search function within BTC Markets to find the option to trade LSK/BTC.

Use search to find the LSK/BTC trade.

Once on the LSK/BTC trading page you can indicate in the left box marked with buy LSK. Here you can decide how much LSK you want to buy.

If you then press Buy LSK, and enter your trade password that you created earlier, your order will be placed. Once the order is filled you will see your number of LSK on the right-hand box or in your balance page.

Congratulations you’re now the proud owner of Lisk.

What is Lisk?

If you have heard anything at all about Lisk, then you have probably seen many comparisons to Ethereum. It’s a logical comparison because both blockchains allow for decentralized applications, aka Dapp, to be built upon the blockchain.

That’s where the similarities end, however.

Lisk is a blockchain in which a sidechain is developed where decentralized applications can be built. Further separating Lisk from Ethereum is the fact that these apps can be coded with javascript.

What Problems Does Lisk Solve?

As usual, scalability of the blockchain is the main problem that Lisk is trying to solve.

There are things that work very well on the Ethereum blockchain, but it also has its limitations.

For example, Ethereum built Proof of Stake consensus protocol to validate blocks. This takes far less time and costs less resources than the Bitcoin blockchain. It also uses smart contracts so that applications could be built on it. That means that enterprises could build, say, a database on the chain rather than on a central server.

One of the limitations of that is that a developer would need to learn Ethereum’s programming language called Solidity to build out an app.

The other big issue is transaction speed. Since things happen in a linear fashion on the chain, this can cause bottlenecks. Hard forks have to happen if there is a bad block or changes need to be made to the blockchain.

There are things that work very well on the Ethereum blockchain, but it also has its limitations.

Lisk has solved these main issues, first by using javascript as the programming language for the blocks. And, secondly by using a sidechain where the applications will be formed. This sidechain will run parallel to the parent chain making processing speeds much faster.

How Does Lisk Work?

Lisk is a Delegated Proof of Stake protocol, so token holders will vote on delegates to validate blocks and create consensus that way. This is a much faster process then Proof of Work and even works better that simple Proof of Stake.

Not only is this more democratic than POS, it is also more efficient. Transaction times are much lower and more transactions can happen at the same time. It’s also safer since any attack on the system will result in a stakeholder losing their tokens. That’s a big incentive to play fair.

There will always be 101 delegates that approve transactions. Competition will be high to become a delegate as they will get paid in LSK tokens for this. There will always be people waiting in standby mode to become a delegate so there will always be somebody online.

The parent blockchain for Lisk will connect to a sidechain by way of nodes. So the sidechain is where the applications will work, freeing up the parent chain.

This is great, because it acts like a parallel blockchain keeping the traffic moving on the parent chain. Each app on the sidechain is effectively its own blockchain. All the transactions for each app is stored on its own blockchain rather than in a block on the parent chain.

A developer has free reign to create any kind of application they want since it is their own chain. Including even developing and distributing their own cryptocurrency.

There will always be 101 delegates that approve transactions. Competition will be high to become a delegate as they will get paid in LSK tokens for this.

Lisk has provided a Software Development Kit to help programmers get started. Since Lisk doesn’t have to write the core software themselves, the network is very lean and flexible.

How Can Lisk Applications be Used?

Since we are talking about apps, it seems that the most obvious way to implement the Lisk blockchain is to be a sort of app store, similar to Itunes or Google Play.

Since the platform is open to anybody, a developer can create a game, social network, messenger, ecommerce shop etc etc. There is no limit as long as the application can be programmed in javascript.

An example of a real world application is for car purchases. You could build an app that stores transaction information about a car. From who bought it and when to what, when and how it got serviced. That doesn’t sound revolutionary as with the Internet of Things, this is already happening, but the blockchain, especially the sidechain, takes this to another level.

Imagine that information stored in a central server that gets hacked. Now not only is personal information compromised, but you may not trust the information about the transactions. This effectively eliminates any need to trust the information.

Another point is that a traditional blockchain might slow that app down. A sidechain acting independently from the parent chain will make the system much faster.

But, you may ask yourself, Isn’t javascript slow and easy to hack? It can be for sure, but the language is being tweaked all the time to make it faster and any weakness in the language is due to bad code. Besides, the sidechain can’t be hacked since it is a Delegated Proof of Stake protocol.

For any blockchain to see mainstream use from regular users, it has to work well. It needs to be fast, inexpensive and user friendly.

The list of use cases goes on and on. Any app that can be developed now can be done on Lisk and the result will be more efficiency, and more control from the developers over their application. Everything can be done on their block including processing payments, eliminating so many weak points in the logistics of using a central server.

How Does the LSK Token Work?

The main function of the token is to pay for the development of Lisk and the blockchain.

The transactions on the blockchain will be paid by LSK tokens. As well as, votes for a delegate, setting up accounts on the blockchain and registering an app. Any transaction that sends a token to a sidechain will also be charged a fee.

So, the value of the token comes from the strength of the platform. The more apps there are, the more users there will be thus, more transactions. The value of the token will increase as users see the value of the platform.

The sidechain based applications can also charge LSk if they wish which will also increase the value, though they are under no obligation. They can use whatever currency they like.

For any blockchain to see mainstream use from regular users, it has to work well. It needs to be fast, inexpensive and user friendly.

The sidechain is a major innovation on blockchain technology that leaps over several hurdles that slows down traditional blockchains. Taking what works from other blockchains and solving the problems of what doesn’t is essential.

Blockchain technology will continue to evolve, and the sidechain will allow Lisk to react to changes without needing to hard fork.

These are exciting times as we see more and more uses of the blockchain that makes the internet more democratic and decentralised.